Zane Brackney
| cityofbirth = Port Charlotte | countryofbirth = St. Gregory | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = Midfielder | currentclub = Bonneville United | clubnumber = 23 | youthyears = 2002-2008 2008-2009 2009-2011 | youthclubs = SGFASOE Doncaster Rovers Sheffield Wednesday | years = 2011-2013 2013-2015 2015 2015- | clubs = Sheffield Wednesday Crystal Palace → Nott'm Forest (loan) Bonneville United | caps(goals) = | nationalyears = 2009-2012 2012- | nationalteam = St. Gregory (U20) St. Gregory | nationalcaps(goals) = | manageryears = | managerclubs = }}Zane Matthew Brackney (born January 1, 1992) is a Gregorian professional footballer who plays for Bonneville United and the St. Gregory national team as a central and attacking midfielder. He became captain of Bonneville United in 2018. Early life and youth career Brackney was born in Port Charlotte, across the bay from St. Gregory's capital, Warner Bay. He was playing football by the age of 7 and showed immediate potential. At age 10, Brackney was invited to the newly-opened SGFA School of Excellence, where he spent the next six years honing his skills and attracting the attention of scouts both at home and abroad. At age 16, Brackney left for England where he joined Doncaster Rovers. He spent one season with Rovers before joining Sheffield Wednesday in the summer of 2009. Club career Sheffield Wednesday On July 4, 2011, Brackney signed a two-year contract with Wednesday. He made his first team debut for the club in a preseason friendly against Portuguese club Santa Maria F.C. on July 13 and scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 loss to Newcastle United on July 20. Brackney had recorded 5 goals and 6 assists in the first half of the 2011-12 League One season when, on January 21, 2012, he dislocated his shoulder during a 1-1 draw with Yeovil Town. Crystal Palace At the conclusion of the 2014-15 season, Palace released Brackney from his contract. Bonneville United On July 1, 2015, Brackney signed a three-year deal with League A club Bonneville United, marking the first time he will play professional football in his home country. On July 18, Brackney scored his first goal for United in a preseason friendly against English Premier League side A.F.C. Bournemouth. His goal was the only one in the match as United won 1-0. On October 17, Brackney recorded his first two assists in league play for United, recording helpers on goals by Greg Holloway and Marcel Manninger (the latter from a corner by Brackney) to help United defeat Manorham 3-1 at Ford Stadium. Brackney switched from attacking midfield to central midfield following a knee injury to Caleb Chambers, which sidelined the United captain for over three months. Brackney received praise for his performances in the new role, earning Man of the Match honors in three consecutive games against Port St. Christopher Pirates, Rivergate and Winston Beach. In the latter of those games, on December 18, 2015, Brackney finally recorded his first league goal for United when he opened the scoring just two minutes into the second half to help propel United to a 3-0 away win. He scored his second goal for United on January 8, 2016 in a 1-0 win at Bonneville Juniors. On April 19, 2018, Brackney signed a three-year extension with Bonneville United, keeping him contracted to the club through 2021. United would go on to win the 2017-18 League A championship, with Brackney wearing the captain's armband on the final day of the season and being the first to lift United's first league trophy in six years as a result. He is expected to inherit the role of captain full-time in 2018-19 after Chambers' retirement. International career Brackney was called back up to the St. Gregory national team for a pair of fourth round World Cup Qualifiers against the United States and Guatemala on November 13 and 17, 2015, respectively. Against the US in St. Louis, Brackney came off the bench to score a dramatic late equalizer that helped St. Gregory begin their qualifying campaign with a 2-2 draw. He returned to the national side for another round of qualifiers on September 2 and 6, again facing the US and Guatemala respectively. He played all 90 minutes in each of the two matches, scoring the only goal of the game in Guatemala as St. Gregory took a 1-0 victory and finished as unlikely winners of Group C. Following the match, however, Brackney was found to have suffered a Grade I ankle sprain. As a result, Bonneville United elected to hold Brackney out of the rest of the 2016 preseason to allow for recovery time. On October 10, 2017, Brackney scored the decisive goal in the 88th minute of a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica at the National Cricket Ground, the final fixture in the Hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying. The result – which came after St. Gregory had trailed 1-0 at half-time – saw the Gregorians qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the first appearance at the finals in their history. In St. Gregory's third group stage match at the 2018 World Cup, Brackney scored from 20 yards out against Tunisia to give St. Gregory a 1-0 lead, their first lead at the tournament, which they took to half-time; the match finished 1-1. The goal was originally credited as an own goal following a deflection off a Tunisian defender, but was later awarded to Brackney. Category:Player pages Category:Bonneville United F.C. players Category:St. Gregory national team players Category:St. Gregory national youth team players Category:SGFA School of Excellence alumni Category:People from Port Charlotte